Discovering the Beauty of Bantayan Island

Bantayan is one of the islands north of Cebu which has white pristine beaches almost comparable to
Boracay. It’s just a small island and not a lot of people go there probably because of the distance. From
Cebu it will take about 3 hours ride in a van going to Hagnaya Port where we took an hour ferry ride to
Santa Fe which costs as low as P 135.

As we reached the dock of Sta. Fe, I was amazed by the view that welcomes us- it is the cleanest port I’ve ever seen. The waters are kept clean and oil spills free which is visible as the whiteness of the sand is reflected by the clear bluish color of the water. With this sight, we can not wait to finally see the beach at the resort. We were booked at Kota Beach and their shuttle picked us up at the port and it only took five minutes to get there. The nice thing about the resort is that it is located at the tip of the island so it offers the widest beachfront. Even if there are lots of guest, one can still have the privacy and enjoy the sandbar, the clear waters and the view.

The following day we went on an island hopping to visit three islands nearby. They boast of the same white sand beaches like in Sta. Fe however it’s disappointing because the corals are already dead so we didn’t get to do fish feeding or enjoy snorkelling. It’s just a typical island hopping so we look forward more to the scrumptious food our guide will prepare for us. We docked at Virgin Island where our guide cooked our lunch. He prepared grilled fish, grilled pork belly, scallops and a local shellfish and ripe mangoes. It was a great experience to have all of our senses titillated by everything around us… the sound of the waves, the breathtaking view, the feel of the sea breeze and the aroma and delectable taste of the food in front of us.

After lunch we had a short trip to Ogtong Cave which is located at Sta. Fe Beach Club (SFBC). Since we
are not staying at SFBC, we had to pay an entrance fee of P 120/ person which allows one to use the
swimming pool. It is a nice treat because it’s amazing how a cave with a body of water is existent in
the middle of the resort. It could have been more exciting if guests can somehow explore the cave and
discover how it connects to the sea or where else it leads to. Unfortunately, there isn’t much we can do
but to take pictures at the entrance of the cave.

Overall, the two days in Bantayan is enough since there is not much that you can do there. It is not
that touristy compared Boracay where you have restaurants and bars all over the place which let them
maintain the cleanliness and privacy of the place. So for those looking for a place which is intimate,
a place where there is some peace and quiet and where once can have a lot of privacy, Bantayan is
certainly an escape from the busy life in the Metro!

portugese restaurant

03 May This entry was published on May 3, 2011 at 2:05 am. It’s filed under TRAVEL and tagged beach, Philippines, travel, trips. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.